II 

£3 



BULLETIN 

OF THE 

CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

No. 1 San Francisco August 15, 1911 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Statement by Commissioners _. 1 Bird Investigation ... 13 

Salmon investigation 4 Game Farm Notes 14 

The Salmon Propagation of 1910 9 Mountain Lion Bounty 16 

Trout Egg Collection and Distribution^ 10 The Work of the Patrol Force 17 

Trout Distribution 11 Arrests, Convictions and Fines is 

Crab Investigation 11 Receipts and Disbursements 20 



STATEMENT BY COMMISSIONERS. 

In issuing this, the first of a series of bulletins which we, as members 
of the State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners, propose to publish 
from time to time, that the people and the press of the State may be 
informed of the scope and character of our work, we believe it fitting 
and proper that we should here outline the policies we have adopted. 

We recognize that we are administering a public trust, that to us has 
been assigned the duty of protecting and conserving the fish and game 
interests of the State for the benefit of all the people, and that to be 
successful we must have their active cooperation. We believe we can 
gain their confidence and support by keeping the people fully informed 
of the nature and scope of our work. We will give publicity to what we 
are doing and trying to do to foster and conserve the fish and game 
which nature has so lavishly bestowed upon the State, while disclosing 
the source and amount of our revenues and the nature of our expendi- 
tures, so segregated as to show the cost of each branch of our work and 
the bookkeeping methods employed. We shall attempt to do this by 
issuing bulletins from time to time, as well as by complying with that 
provision of the law which specifically requires this Board to biennially 
submit to the Governor a full report. 

We aim to work on broad, practical and economical lines, and to make 
the Commission something more than a police force. We shall endeavor 
to enforce the laws for the preservation of fish and game, and to stock 
the public waters of the State with food and game fishes best suited to 
them. By economic and scientific investigations we hope to disclose the 
life, habits, and abundance of our fish and game, and the conditions 
most favorable to conserve and, if possible, increase the supply. 

We appreciate to the fullest extent the necessity of enforcing all the 
laws of the State; that we are an executive branch of the state govern- 
ment and not the legislative branch. We recognize, also, as the Legisla- 



I CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

ture has recognized, that in order to give effectiveness to the laws for the 
preservation and restoration of fish and game, there must be a specially 
constituted service designed to enforce them. In consequence, we aim to 
maintain throughout the State a patrol force of honest, alert, active and 
intelligent men, who shall devote their entire time to the service. In 
selecting these assistants, we shall be guided by their apparent qualifica- 
tions and fitness for the work and not because of their political affilia- 
tions or support. 

We shall maintain the State Game-Farm in an effort to introduce non- 
indigenous game-birds of known value, and to promote the domestication 
of pheasants to supply the markets of the State, in accordance with the 
act passed at the last session of the Legislature. 

We shall continue to operate the fish hatcheries to their full capacity, 
and to distribute the output in suitable public waters in every section of 
the State. We will not stock private waters. We shall give to the 
distribution of the fish produced in the fish hatcheries the greatest care, 
endeavoring not only to see that the young fish are intelligently liber- 
ated where they may best thrive, but by close observation to ascertain 
the success of such methods, and to ascertain further if additional and 
more effective measures can be found. It should, we think, be gen- 
erally understood that the success of hatchery propagation depends 
largely upon the care given to the planting of the fish produced; that 
it is not so much a question of liberating excessive numbers in our 
streams, as it is to insure each individual fish finding suitable waters 
and food. As much care should be exercised to prevent waters being 
excessively stocked with young fry as to insure that they are ade- 
quately stocked. By giving careful attention to this branch of the work, 
we believe that we can produce great results. 

It has already been demonstrated that the operations of the hatcheries 
and the stocking of streams in the State with native and non-indigenous 
fish have produced great results. No other state has reaped as great 
reward from the moneys so expended. 

We believe that, notwithstanding the notable success that has already 
followed the introduction and the acclimatization of new food and game 
fishes in the waters of this State, as well as the propagation of our native 
fishes, much can yet be accomplished; that our waters may be made to 
produce even more abundantly; for, notwithstanding that this Com- 
mission has been in existence for forty years and has accomplished 
greater results than any similar commission in the United States, very 
little attention has been directed to a study of the life and habits of any 
of our food-fishes. To intelligently conserve and increase our aquatic 
food supply it is essential to be conversant with the life, habits, food, 
abundance and the principal enemies. Until we know the time and 
place where our food-fishes propagate, the waters frequented by their 
young, and the conditions essential for successful development, we can 
not proceed intelligently. And, we regret to say that at the present 
time, the Commission is not in possession of positive information of this 
character. To obtain such knowledge, we have during the past six 
months begun a systematic and scientific investigation of the life of our 
salmon, trout, crabs and clams. For this work we have been enabled 
to enlist the services of some of the well known scientific men from our 
two great universities. 






O (X^ BULLETIN 3 



iT^ Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, head of the Zoological Department of Stan- 
ford University, .the highest authority on salmon and trout on the 
Pacific coast, has been engaged to conduct an inquiry into the life- 
history of our salmon and trout. Under a separate heading we give a 
brief review of Dr. Gilbert's notes on the work already accomplished. 

The study of the life, abundance and the conditions most favorable to 
Lhe maintenance of our edible crab (Cancer magistt r) was begun under 
the auspices of the Board last October. The work is in the hands of 
F. W. Weymouth of Stanford University, who is a recognized authority. 
At this time nothing is known as to where or when these crabs propa- 
gate, or the life of their young. Investigation has proven to us that 
vast numbers of young crabs have, for the last thirty years, been reg- 
ularly destroyed in San Francisco Bay. through the agency of Chinese 
shrimp- or bag-nets. Immature edible crabs in almost incredible num- 
bers were always to be found in the nets and upon the drying beds of 
the Chinese shrimp fishermen. We believe, however, that the passage 
by the late Legislature of the law prohibiting the use of such nets has 
' made the ultimate crab supply reasonably secure. 

Professor Harold Heath .of Stanford University, at our direction, 
began in December last a research intended to disclose the life and 
range of our edible clams. Very little or nothing is known of the life 
of these valuable mollusks. There appears, however, to be a limited area 
in this State which affords opportunity for their existence, and, -in con- 
sequence, we believe that there is great danger that, with the increasing 
demand and the present unrestricted methods of digging them, the clam 
beds in the State may be speedily exhausted. We hope, through the 
efforts and studies of Professor Heath and his assistants, to be able to 
lay sufficient facts before the Legislature to warrant the adoption of 
measures that will insure the future supply. 

Arrangements have been made with Dr. William E, Ritter, of the 
Marine Biological Station at San Diego, to undertake an inquiry into 
the life, propagation and range of our spiney lobster. Dr. Ritter will, 
we hope, be induced to undertake a study of. the abalone in connection 
with the work upon the lobster. 

In addition to the investigation that we have begun into the life 
history of our principal food and game fishes, we have also instituted 
an investigation of the relations of certain birds to the agricultural 
interests of the State. Harold C. Bryant, of the State University at 
Berkeley, has been engaged to conduct the inquiry. We hope to show 
in what manner each doubtful species of bird affects the farmer and 
the fruit grow T er, and what measures are to be taken to encourage the 
beneficial birds and to exterminate the injurious ones. We have 
engaged in this work because we receive many complaints and many 
commendations of such birds as the meadow-lark, robin and blackbird. 
To assist Mr. Bryant in his efforts to ascertain the food and habits 
throughout the year of these and other birds in the State, we have one 
assistant in each county who regularly, every two weeks, collects six 
specimens of each bird. Each specimen is carefully tagged with a 
label giving the locality, date, hour of day, and place where taken, i. e., 
in orchard, vineyard, grainfield or garden ; they are then placed in 
formalin, and are regularly forwarded to the laboratory at East Hall, 
University of California. On being examined, the contents of the 



4 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

stomach and of the intestines of each bird is carefully noted, showing 
the kind and character of the seeds and insects upon which the bird 
lives. This information will be carefully compiled and tabulated, in 
order that the exact nature and amount of food taken by each of these 
species shall be plainly disclosed month by month throughout the year. 

We submit for the information of the bird lovers of the State, that 
the work of collecting specimens for the scientific inquiry as to the food 
of the doubtful species of birds has the hearty approval of the scientific 
authorities of our two great universities and of the Audubon Society. 
Dr. David Starr Jordan, who is the president of that society, as well as 
an ex-member of this Commission, endorses the methods adopted in 
collecting the birds. 

Believing that great good will come from the proper education of our 
children as to the value of the wild birds and animals to the farming 
interests of the State, and not alone to the sportsmen and the lovers of 
nature, we have engaged the services of Gretchen L. Libby, late secre- 
tary and lecturer for the Audubon Society of California, to conduct a 
campaign throughout the public schools of the State. 

Miss Libby began lecturing in the public schools last April. Her 
talks to the children are carefully prepared and consume about thirty 
minutes in each classroom. From reports made to us by the super- 
intendents and teachers in the public schools, she has interested the 
scholars greatly. In addition to her work in the schools, whenever 
opportunity offers, Miss Libby gives evening lectures upon bird pro- 
tection, before school and lyceum societies, illustrating with lantern 
slides. From April 11th to June 10th, she delivered 149 addresses in 
schools, to 10,480 pupils, and spoke six times in the evening, to 779 
persons. 

Through her efforts we hope to interest all the children in the public 
schools. Miss Libby will resume her work at the beginning of the fall 
term of school and in time will speak in every public school of the State. 
Respectfully submitted. 

STATE BOARD OF FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONERS. 

F. G. SANBORN. President. 
M. J. CONNELL. 
F. M. NEWBERT. 
JOHN P. BABCOCK. Chief Deputy. 
Office of the Board. 

Balboa Building', San Francisco, August 13, 1911. 

SALMON INVESTIGATION. 

Notwithstanding it has been fully demonstrated that, owing to hatch- 
ery propagation, the quantities of salmon annually taken from the 
waters of the State have been largely increased during the past twelve 
years, it appears from a comparison of the record of the number of fish 
caught in the Sacramento River, with that of the annual output of young 
salmon from the hatcheries, that the number of adult salmon taken 
annually from that river is averaging less than one per cent of the 
hatchery output, Not being satisfied with such a showing as this, and 
in the hope of uncovering much that would prove of value in this great 
work, the Commission, in January last, determined upon an investiga- 
tion that would disclose, as far as possible, the conditions confronting 
the young salmon during the seaward migration. The work already 



BULLETIN ) 

gives promise of gratifying results. Briefly stated, it lias been shown 
That, in the headwaters of the Sacramento River and its tributaries, 
where the greatest number of the young salmon have been liberated, 
the trout prey upon them during February, March, and April, entailing 
great loss; that the loss through trout was very light during the last of 
April, and amounted to little in May and June, notwithstanding that the 
streams were still full of young salmon and that large numbers were still 
being planted. It has also been found that in passing down-stream 
there is. during high water, a pronounced movement from the main 
channels of the Sacramento into the Sutter and Yolo basins, and that 
ihc yoiiii- tish passing into these basins find there rich feeding grounds. 
and grow rapidly, and that they appear to make little or no effort to 
pass from the basin back into the main channel; so that, as the waters 
recede and become warmer, they perish. The loss from this source 
appears to be enormous. 

By the use of small mesh nets, it has been demonstrated that there 
were young salmon in Suisun Bay. Carquinez Straits, San Pablo and 
San Francisco Nays during the months of April and .May. and that 
young salmon less than one and three-quarters inches in length were 
taken near Lime Point, at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. 

in order to demonstrate, if possible, the effect of the river trip upon 
the seaward migration of the young salmon, fifty thousand salmon fry 
were marked by removing the dorsal fin, and after having fully recovered 
from the effects of being marked, they were liberated in the head tribu- 
taries of the Sacramento River. An additional fifty thousand were 
marked by removing both the dorsal and adipose fins; after recovery, 
these were transported to Benicia and liberated in Carquinez Straits. 

In a report upon this work Dr. Gilbert wrote on May 24th as follows: 

"On the morning of May 20th, the Commission ear delivered at 
Benicia 50,000 Chinook salmon fry, which had been marked at Sisson 
for the purposes of the experiment, and also 3 cans containing other 
fry of different ages, for a second experiment which will be presently 
described. 

The marking experiments which we have undertaken are planned to 
serve more than one purpose. (1) They should make it possible to 
secure valuable data containing the movements of fish of knoivn age, in 
the river, the bay and the ocean. (2) They should give a much needed 
opportunity to check up the work of the Commission in salmon propa- 
gation, and furnish a basis for computing what proportion of the salmon 
run is dependent on artificial and what proportion on natural spawning. 
(3) They may furnish also evidence as to the relative advantage of lib- 
crating salmon fry at the headwaters of the Sacramento, near Sisson, 
and on the lower river, in the vicinity of San Francisco Bay. 

In all, 100,000 fry have been marked, the first 50,000 by completely 
lemoving the dorsal fin, the second 50,000 by removing the dorsal fin 
and in addition the adipose dorsal. The first 50,000 were planted about 
April 1st, in Cold Creek, about half a mile below the hatchery, at the 
same point and under the same conditions characterizing the majority 
of the other plants from the Sisson Hatchery this year. They should, 
therefore, share the same fate of the common run of planted fish, 
exposed to such dangers as accompany the long river trip and with equal 
chances of surviving and returning from the sea at maturity. 



6 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

The second lot of 50,000, with both dorsal fins removed, was the one 
handled by ns at Benicia on May 20th. All possible precautions had 
been taken to equalize the conditions of the two lots in all respects, save 
method of marking and place where planted. Both had developed from 
eggs secured from the Baird Hatchery, and were of equal age. Further, 
the up-river planting was at such a date as would permit the fish (on 
the basis of our present knowledge) to reach the lower river at the time 
the second lot was planted. If the two lots develop differently and 
return to the river in strikingly different proportions, it would seem 
fair to conclude that the river trip was responsible for the difference 
It is a pleasure to report that the planting on May 20th was an entire 
success. The cans were promptly loaded on a tug kindly furnished for 
the purpose by Mr. P. E. Booth, taken to the middle of the river and 
the plant made where conditions were most favorable. While most of 
the young fish promptly disappeared in the turbid water, a small pro- 
portion remained for a time at the surface and were very conspicuous 
because of their dark coloration. Careful observation failed to indicate 
the presence of any enemy. 

On the completion of this work at 11 : 30 a. m., the Commission party, 
consisting of Deputies F. A. Shebley, A. D. Ferguson and myself, 
boarded the Commission launch, which was in charge of Mr. Nidever, 
and proceeded with the second experiment. This was to test the effect, 
on Chinook fry, of fairly rapid transference from the fresh river water 
through the brackish water of varying salinity found in the bay and 
thence outside in the open sea. It was planned to reproduce, as nearly 
as was feasible, the natural conditions encountered by salmon fry when 
passing out to sea. But it is to be noted that in the experiment the 
transition was much more rapid and abrupt than it would be in nature, 
where the young fish could drift back and forth on the tides for an 
unknown period. If. therefore, the experiment should fail, it would 
not necessarily demonstrate that the young fish could not pass out safely 
when employing the more gradual natural method. But should it suc- 
ceed, it would seem to indicate that even with young fry there need be 
no fear of fatal results in effecting the transition from fresh to salt 
water. Wherefore, it would be entirely safe, if for any reason it were 
desirable, to plant young fry in the vicinity of the bay. 

Fry of three different ages were used in the experiment ; the youngest, 
just beginning to feed after the absorption of the yolk-sac; the oldest, 
fish of the Baird lot. like those used in the marking experiment, and 
some Mill ( 'reek fish of intermediate age. While passing down the river, 
the water in the cans was constantly changed by dipping from the river, 
and remained — as we ascertained by testing— similar to the river water 
in temperature and density. No trace of salt was detected until we 
reached the vicinity of San Pablo Point, as the tide was changing to 
flood. The salinity then increased so rapidly that we tied up for two 
hours at the San Pablo wharf, in order not unduly to hasten the process. 
In a little over an hour, the water became as salt as Ave afterwards found 
it on the bar outside the heads, but the fry showed no distress or uneasi- 
ness, and fed voraciously when given a meal of ground meat. The suc- 
cess of the experiment here, as elsewhere, was greatly furthered by the 
presence of Superintendent Shebley. whose care for the young fish was 
incessant, and whose experience with salmon fry would have enabled 



BULLETIN < 

him to detect at once any abnormal behavior, should the salt water 
occasion distress or discomfort. 

From San Pablo Point, we proceeded to Sausalito, where we spent 
the night. We found the water varying in density with the stage of 
the tide. The salinity increased until it registered 10° on a saturation 
scale, but even the youngest fry were not disturbed, and possessed 
sharp appetites in the morning. 

Making use of the early morning ebb, we passed out of the harbor and 
across the liar to the buoy marking the entrance to the middle channel. 
As tie- salinity had not at all increased while running out. it was evidenl 
the water of the bay and the river was spread, fan-like, over ;i wide area, 
in which the fry could continue indefinitely. About one mile outside 
the buoy, the salmon were planted. They were in excellent condition 
and disappeared promptly from the surface, seemingly more vigorous 
and active than when taken from the car the preceding <l;i.\ . 

We failed to encounter pure sea-water and did no1 succeed, iherefore, 
in carrying the fish throughout the series of densities. This will be 
attempted at a later time, and, meanwhile, important information may 
be expected from the Papermill Creek experiment, in which the fish are 
to be watched ;is they naturally pass out into Tomales Bay. 

I have already mentioned the indispensable assistance rendered by 
Superintendent Shebley of the Brookdale hatchery, it is also a pleas- 
ure to record the volunteer services rendered by Deputy Ferguson. 
Without fhe aid of these gentlemen, the experiment could not have suc- 
ceeded.'' 

Referring to his experiments in marking and liberating steelhead trout 
,-it the s.-ott Creek egg collecting station, Dr. Gilbert writes: 

" It has been worth the work of wiring the steelheads merely to ascer- 
tain that after a. certain time in the spring, practically all yearlings 
remain in the stream, and during the summer months grow xrvy little. 
Xow if we can succeed in ascertaining when they do go to sea. one long 
step forward will have been taken in working out the life-history of the 
steelhead. My original task — to discriminate between steelhead and 
rainbow — has resolved itself for the present into an exhaustive investi- 
gation of the life-history of the steelhead. We need to demonstrate — 

1. Do the fry seek salt water shortly after attaining the free-swim- 
ming stage, and if so, in what proportion of the total hatch .' Also, do 
they survive, and what proportion of adult fish consist of developed fry 
which have immediately sought salt water .' 

2. Do the young which remain in the streams for longer periods, pass 
out at different ages? 

3. Do any which have entered the sea return to fresh water before 
maturity? If so, when and for how long.' 

4. Do any, which are free to pass out. remain in the streams perma- 
nently? If so. when do they mature and what age do they finally 
attain '! 

."). The ages at which sea-run fish mature? Do they spawn during 
successive years? What age do they attain?" 

Under date of February 13, 1911, Dr. Gilbert writes: 
'"Saturday at Scott Creek proved interesting and valuable. One 
specimen bearing tag No. 36 was marked last February when it returned 



8 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

from the sea as a small 'grilse' 15 inches long and weighed but one- 
half pound ; it now weighs 6 pounds and is 24f inches long. The scales 
from this specimen exhibit a very beautiful spawning mark or scar, 
and a broad growth outside that mark formed after the return of the 
fish to salt water. The station at Scott Creek offers the best opportunity 
for experimental work in marking and liberating fish that could be 
devised. I sincerely hope the Commission will be able to increase the 
facilities with hatching troughs and a supply of water, as soon as the 
Board can acquire all the legal rights to the station." 

Under date of February 21, 1911, and referring to the marking of 
salmon at Sisson hatchery, Dr. Gilbert reports : 

' ' I found the little salmon not difficult to mark and believe it can be 
done with some rapidity as soon as the men have had a chance to become 
£dept. Superintendent Hunt will keep me informed of the progress of 
the work, and has arranged to send me a few marked fish picked up at 
random, so I can examine the results. Then, when 50,000 are marked, 
it will be advisable to make a trip to examine and witness the planting. 
When this is done I wish to haul a net in the pools below the planting 
and examine the stomachs of any large fish that we may capture. The 
importance of this is obvious. It will be a great relief if this experi- 
ment brings negative results." 

Under date of June 14th, Dr. Gilbert wrote : 

"In my recent trip in the Commission's launch 'Shad,' with Deputy 
Nidever, up the Sacramento River, I inspected the various 'breaks' 
through which the river overflows into the Yolo basin; also the Cache 
Slough, through which a portion of the overflow waters find their way 
back into the Sacramento, in the vicinity of Rio Vista. We also visited 
the Tisdale Weir, or Easement, and Butte Slough, both of which divert 
surplus flood waters into the extensive Sutter Basin. As had been 
found by deputies Scofield and Nidever on previous examinations, wher- 
ever waters were pouring into these basins, they were carrying with 
them numbers of salmon fingerlings of the year, now making their 
downward migration to the sea. While at this date the crest of the 
wave of migration is long past, some of the results secured were suffi- 
ciently impressive. Thus, at Wood's Break, which has an opening of 
about 175 feet into the Yolo Basin, a short distance below Knights 
Landing, a trap with a small opening set in the overflow current for 
three hours intercepted 79 young salmon, and in the succeeding three 
hours 106, while during the night 168 entered the trap. When it is con- 
sidered that the trap strains but a small part of the water entering the 
basin through Wood's Break, that this is but one of several breaks into 
the Yolo Basin, and that the height of migration is well past, the im- 
portance of an exhaustive study of these overflow basins from the stand- 
point of their effect on the salmon industry of the State becomes 
sufficiently obvious. Fingerlings in the river at this time average about 
three inches long. They are a picked lot, representing the favored 
remnant which have survived the early dangers in the egg, as alevins, 
and when beginning to feed. To rear salmon under protection in arti- 
ficial surroundings to a length of three inches, is an expensive process. 
So much the greater is the need of observing solicitously the fate of 
those which are diverted into the overflow basins, and of devising means 
of avoiding the loss, should such be proven to occur. 



BULLETIN' 9 

Now is the critical time to determine the extent of this loss. Water 
has ceased to flow over the Tisdale Weir and over the Easement into the 
Yolo Basin, and is beginning to recede from the upper portions of the 
overflowed districts. Such smaller bodies of water as are left in depres- 
sions should be promptly examined before the evidence is lost. A.s soon 
as thi water becomes stagnant and overheated, the young'salmon will 
perish, and even before that time many will fall a prey to the predatory 
birds which are already congregating in great numbers throughout the 
overflowed districts. Terns, gulls, herons and shags abound everywhere 
and can be observed feeding in every favorable pool. They catch the 
living fish and also quickly remove all trace of those which perish 
because of unfavorable surroundings. 

Under these conditions, it is imperative that the work proceed vigor- 
ously and without interruption. I recommend that the field party 
return in the Tisdale Weir, and examine in great detail all the ponds 
available. 11 will not suffice to examine a few and assume that all the 
test agree \\ ith these. The evidence should be specific and detailed, and 
should he presented in such mass as to convince everyone of the sound- 
ness of the conclusions. Liberal sets of photographs should be taken, 
approximate measurements of the ponds should be made and attempts 
to estimate the number of impounded fish. Special attention should be 
paid t<> temperature and other conditions which eventually prove fatal 
to the young salmon. Such knowledge will prove highly useful later in 
t he season, at the period when the overflow waters are most concentrated. 

A- soon as the field party has completed its examination of the Tis- 
dale Weir district, it is probable the Wood's Break will have ceased to 
Bow. and will leave for investigation a most important series of holes 
and ponds. And. in succession, other overflow regions will become avail- 
able and should be at once investigated. Finally, the residual lakes in 
all the basins will remain for a most thorough study." 

Under date of June 20, 1911, Dr. Gilbert states: 

"I am leaving to-morrow for Pacific Grove, where I expect to make 
soul observations on the food of the salmon and the character of the 
run. if indeed enough are being captured to admit of observation. I 
wish also to inspect the catch of the sardine fishermen, to ascertain a 
possible relation with the salmon industry. This is in pursuance of our 
general plan to determine all the causes which prevent a greater return 
of mature salmon to the Sacramento River, in proportion to the number 
of fry there liberated. Losses by predatory fish in the streams and by 
stranding in the overflow basins are now determined, though the serious- 
ness of the loss thus effected is still to be fixed. The loss in the sea we 
believe to be very great, but have no knowledge as yet what are the 
effective causes, or whether any part of it can be prevented. We antici- 
pate, however, the possibility of ascertaining what forms prey upon 
salmon during their entire residence in the sea, and also whether cur- 
rent methods of fishing are unduly destructive. ' ' 

THE SALMON PROPAGATION OF 1910. 

In 1910, during the months of October, November, and December, the 
Fish and Game Commission received as usual from the U. S. Bureau of 
Fisheries, a grant of 24,126,000 salmon eggs which had been spawned 
at the Federal hatcheries at Baird, Battle Creek, and Mill Creek. These 



10 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

eggs were received and eared for at the State hatcheries at' Sisson. Eel 
River, and Brookdale. 

Those hatched at Sisson were liberated in the tributaries of the Sacra- 
mento, near the hatchery, with the exception of 2.215.000 which were 
taken down to Redding and liberated in the Sacramento. Those hatched 
at the Eel River Hatchery were liberated in that stream within a few 
miles of the sea, and those hatched at Brookdale were planted in Scott 
Creek and the San Lorenzo River. 

In addition to the above grant, 2,109,000 of silver salmon eggs were 
obtained through the joint operations of the Commission and the Bureau 
of Fisheries, on Klamath River, near Klamathon. The eggs of the silver 
salmon were shipped to Sisson and hatched there, with the result that 
700,000 young silver salmon were planted in Klamath River and 719,000 
in the Sacramento River. This is the first effort made in this State to 
increase the runs of the silver salmon; heretofore, hatchery propagation 
has been confined to the Quinnat, or Sacramento salmon. 

The silver salmon, commonly called "Coho" in the north, apparently 
does not enter either the Sacramento or the San Joaquin rivers. There 
is no known reason why the fish should not enter these streams ; they run 
abundantly in the Klamath and the Smith rivers, in Del Norte County ; 
they are taken in considerable numbers in Eel River, in the fall : and 
they frequent many other of the coast streams, as far south as Monterey 
Bay . Strange as it may appear, the presence of the silver salmon in the 
waters of this State remained unnoticed, until Dr. Gilbert, Professor of 
Zoology, at Stanford University, a few seasons ago called attention to 
them. Heretofore, all the salmon taken in our rivers have been com- 
mercially classed as Quinnat. The silver salmon — though a true Pacific 
salmon — is not considered as valuable a fish as the Quinnat ; they are 
smaller, run late in the fall, and are lacking in color and in oil. Never- 
theless they are an excellent food fish when taken as they enter the rivers 
from the sea. Though the silver salmon run neither into the Sacramento 
nor the San Joaquin rivers, as an experiment the Commission planted 
719,000 in the Sacramento, at Redding, with the hope of establishing a 
run in that river of these desirable fish. The outcome of the experiment 
will be watched with interest. 

TROUT EGG COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION. 

During the last few months the Commission has taken from the stock 
fish in the breeding ponds at the Sisson Hatchery, the following numbers 
of trout eggs : 

Loch Leven trout 1,200,000 

Rainbow trout 1,100,000 

Eastern Brook trout 750.000 

3,050.000 

In addition to the eggs collected from the stock ponds at Sisson. two 
spawming stations were operated on the Klamath River, for the collection 
of wild rainbow trout eggs ; these stations obtained 2,500,000 eggs, which 
were eyed and shipped to the Sisson Hatchery. A station for the collect- 
ing of steelhead trout spawn was also operated at the Snow Mountain 
Power Company's dam, in Eel River, and 1,900,000 eggs were collected 
there, 300,000 of which were paid to the California Trout Farm Com- 



BULLETIN 11 

paiiy. who holds the leases for operating a1 that dam. 300,000 of the 
eggs taken at the latter place wen- shipped to the State hatchery at 

Grizzly Bluff, on Eel River, in Humboldt County, where they were 
hatched. The fry from this lot will he distributed in that county. 
700,000 of the eggs were shipped to the I'kiah Hatchery, which the Com- 
mission holds under lease. This lot will supply fish for Mendocino, 
Sonoma, Marin, and Lake comities. The balance of the eggs was 
shipped to Sisson. where they were hatched and are awaiting ship menl 
to public waters. The Commission also operated the Scott ( 'reek spawn- 
ing station, owned by the county of Santa Cruz, upon a lease, under the 
terms of which the County hatchery at Brookdale was furnished 500,000 
eyed steelhead trout eggs, from a total of 1 ,300,01 mi steelhead eggs taken 
at this station, 600,000 of them being shipped to Sisson, to be used in 
stocking public streams. 

Owing to unfavorable weather conditions, only 130,000 steelhead 
trout eggs were collected at Grizzly Bluff, Humboldl County, but the 
output of that hatchery was increased by the shipment already men- 
tioned. In all. 5,800,000 steelhead trout eggs were collected during the 
season. 

The season at Tahoe was much later than usual, owing to the excessive 
snow fall of last wilder. Operations were begun there in May and 
3,000,000 Tahoe trout eggs were collected, which will he hatched at the 
Tahoe and Talkie hatcheries and planted in the lakes in the immediate 
vicinity. 

The hatchery at Wawona. Vosemite National Park, is being operated 
as usual, with e<^'s shipped from Lake Tahoe. 

The total number of trout eggs collected this year amounts to 
Ll,980,000. 

TROUT DISTRIBUTION. 

In .June the distribution of trout from the Sisson hatcheries began, 
and the Commission will endeavor to make plants in public waters in 
every section of the State. 

Many applications have been received from all over the State, and 
interested persons desiring the streams of their section stocked should 
file applications without delay. 

The fish distribution car of the State was thoroughly overhauled in 
May, at the Southern Pacific railway shops at Sacramento. Its carry- 
ing capacity has been increased by the installation of an additional line 
of air-pipes. Every endeavor will be made and the greatest care *>iven 
to the proper distribution of the fish from the hatcheries. 

CRAB INVESTIGATION. 

Excerpt from a report made to the Fish and Game Commission by P. W. Weymouth, 
in charge of the Crab Investigation. 

''The edible crab of the Pacific coast, known to scientists as Cancer 
magister, is not only an animal of consiclerahle commercial value, form- 
ing a respectable item in the three million dollar yearly yield of Cali- 
fornia's fishing industry, hut one quite as interesting as the salmon or 
any of our game birds. 

Though both valuable and interesting, there exists hardly a reference 
to its habits or life-history, either in scientific or popular literature, 
although other crustaceans, notably the lobster of our eastern coast and 



12 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

the edible crab of Europe, have been the subject's of careful studies, 
undertaken to determine efficient means of protection and feasible 
methods of propagation. The present Commissioners plan to remedy 
this state of affairs, and the purpose of this account is to give some idea 
of the little we do know and more of the lot we do not know, but might 
easily find out, about this interesting animal. In as brief a treatment as 
this, many points must necessarily be omitted, but perhaps some con- 
ception may be given of the scope and methods of the present investiga- 
tion, if we state our present knowledge of the life-history of the young 
crab. 

By a wise law the taking of female crabs is prohibited at all times ; 
but if one were to examine some of those which the fishermen return to 
the ocean during the fall or winter, many would be found with great 
masses of eggs, often equalling in bulk a fourth or fifth of the body, 
securely attached to the abdominal legs. The individual eggs are very 
small. If the fact is grasped that a single egg measures only about one- 
sixtieth of an inch in diameter and that about fifty thousand may be 
held in an ordinary teaspoon, it will not be thought surprising that a 
single, rather small female was found to be carrying 750,000 eggs. 

Just how long the eggs are carried in this fashion and what is the 
usual date of egg-laying we do not yet know, but this may easily be 
found out when a complete series of specimens collected at all seasons 
of the year is available for study. 

Such a production of eggs would seem a sufficient provision for the 
maintenance of the supply of crabs. An illustration may perhaps make 
this clearer. If there were present in the waters about Eureka, alone, 
a number of females equal to the number of males taken at that port 
during 1910, and half of these were to produce eggs — both of these 
assumptions err on the side of caution — the total weight of the offspring 
produced in a single year, if all were to reach maturity, would amount 
to over 59,000,000 tons, or about eight and a half times the combined 
weights of the Pyramid of Cheops and the Washington Monument. 

It is obvious that they do not reach maturity, and here, as in the case 
of most animals, there must be an enormous mortality among the young. 
Let us consider some of the conditions that favor this. The egg hatches 
into a minute larva bearing little resemblance to the adult and called a 
zoea. The zoea of Cancer magister, as far as we have record, had not 
been obtained before the beginning of the present investigation, and 
most of our knowledge of this, as well as of the other larval stages, is 
drawn from the work on the European crab. The little crab comes to 
the surface of the water, where, in company with an immense variety 
of microscopic plants and animals, it forms what is known collectively 
as plankton. Now this plankton, though unnoticed by the casual 
observer, is the immediate source of food for countless animals of all 
sizes, from microscopic copepods to whales, and ultimately the source of 
the food of all marine animals, since those that do not feed upon it 
directly feed upon those that do. 

Thus, with many other tiny organisms the zoea and later larval stages 
are destroyed in countless numbers. The stomachs of salmon, for 
instance, have been found crammed with the larva? of this or closely 
related species. 

The larvae may be collected by towing a net of fine meshed cloth at 



bulletin- 1:; 

the surface of the water, and a beginning has been made a1 this work, 
which, if carried out systematically during all seasons of the year in 
various localities, will show at what time of year larvae are present. 
where They are found, how their distribution is affected by the tide.s and 
currents ;it whose mercy they float, what food is present, and perhaps 
some hint of the enemies thai destroy them. 

After a number of weeks or months— we have as yet no exact infor- 
mation on this point — the larvae assnme a form closely resembling the 
adnlt. and shortly afterward, to judge from the results of what dredg- 
ing lias been carried out, they seek the bottom, where they continue to 
Jive until adult, That they do not frequent the places where the adults 
are mosl numerous is indicated by the results of the present work, hut 
more exact information on this point will be necessary in order to deter- 
mine whether a correspondingly greal destruction occurs at this stage 
and if any of the loss is preventable. 

The important question of the time required for the crab to reach a 
marketable size offers many difficulties, since no large aquaria have been 
maintained in this State for the continuous study of such forms; hut 
some indirect evidence, based mi the rate of growth of the young, is 
already at hand, and promises valuable results. 

Now, before there is any alarming diminution in the supply, is the 
time to begin conservation, and an accurate knowledge of the life-history 
of the crab musl form the first step in any scheme for its protection." 

BIRD INVESTIGATION. 

written by II. C. Bryant, Assistant in charge of Bird Investigation, to the 
editor of the "San Bernardino Sun." 

"Dear Sir: I am in receipt of a clipping entitled 'Protests the 
Slaughter of Birds,' taken from your paper under date of May 30th. 
In order that the position of the Fish and Game Commission on this 
subject may be clearly understood by Mr. Herron and other readers of 
your paper, 1 take the liberty of writing you. 

The killing of birds at nesting time is certainly to be deplored and. 
unless a reasonable excuse for so doing can be advanced, the killing is 
indeed criminal and should be a subject of protest by all humane peo- 
ple. Mr. Herron 's description of the suffering young should work on 
i tie sympathies of even the most hard-hearted. 

Each year the protection and preservation of wild birds becomes more 
important. In some of the eastern states an especially appointed officer 
spends his time investigating the value of birds. In California the value 
of certain birds has been much discussed, as the records of the last two 
legislatures show. Opinion is divided on the question whether meadow- 
larks, blackbirds, robins and horned larks pay for the fruit and grain 
which they eat, by destroying injurious insects. The Fish and Game 
Commission, believing that a scientific investigation as to the value of 
these birds would settle the controversy, has begun such an investigation. 

The examination of the stomach-contents of the birds concerned being 
of greatest value in determining the food, it was decided to collect birds 
for such investigation. In an investigation of this kind it can readily 
be seen that birds taken only at the time of year when they are feeding 
on grain and fruit would furnish evidence against them. On the other 
hand, birds taken at some other time of year might furnish only evidence 



14: CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

in their favor. Therefore, in order to be fair to the bird itself as well 
as to its friends and enemies, it was decided to take birds in every month 
of the year, and in sufficient quantity to make the result conclusive. It 
is a well known fact that many birds which feed almost altogether on 
vegetable food most of the year feed their young largely on insects. 
Thus it will be seen that the taking of birds during the nesting season is 
very important and absolutely necessary, even though it involves the 
destruction of a limited number of parent birds and their young. 

What the Commission desires, and what all interested in the matter 
in controversy desire, is that the birds under protest shall have a fair 
and just trial. The only fair test of the value of a bird to the people 
of California is a knowledge of the bird's feeding habits throughout the 
whole year. A discontinuance of the collection of birds at any time 
during the year, therefore, would make the result obtained of doubtful 
value. 

To most people the killing of several hundred birds appears an 
unjustifiable slaughter, but our best ornithologists tell us that in the 
economy of nature there is food and protection in each locality for a 
certain bird population, and that if this number is decreased by epi- 
demic, lack of food, storm, or other means, the number of young, which 
live as a result of the diminished numbers, soon brings back the balance 
of nature. An instance in point is the linnet, or house-finch. This bird 
has been unprotected for a number of years, and the number of birds 
killed and the nests destroyed by fruit-growers and small boys mounts 
into the thousands and yet who will dare to say that this species has 
decreased in numbers. This does not mean that an indiscriminate 
slaughter of any species of bird would not have any effect on the num- 
bers, for we have only to point to the game-birds for instances of this. 
It does show, however, that the collection of non-game birds now being 
carried on is not so serious as might at first appear. 

The collection of birds for evidence now being conducted by the Fish 
and Game Commission has the approval of the Audubon Society of the 
State and the Agricultural Departments at the State University and at 
Stanford, and is being conducted strictly on well considered and scien- 
tific lines. Every bird taken is carefully preserved and the contents of 
its crop and intestines determined and tabulated. The birds taken will 
furnish evidence to establish whether they are friends or enemies of our 
great agricultural interests. If it be shown by the specimens taken that 
any one of the doubtful species of birds are friends, the loss of a num- 
ber of specimens taken to establish the fact becomes of no importance 
to the species." 

GAME FARM NOTES. 

The season at the State Game Farm has so far been most satisfactory. 
Fifty adult wild turkeys were carried over from last season. With few 
exceptions, all the original stock of wild turkeys brought from Mexico 
three years ago has been liberated, the present stock at the Farm con- 
sisting of birds raised from the original stock, and two gobblers and one 
hen from Virginia. The hens being young have laid a large number 
of eggs, from which were hatched 720 young turkeys. The loss up to 
the present time has been small, the wild turkey chicks appearing to be 
more hardy than the domestic birds. The young birds will be held 
until early fall and will then be liberated in the Sequoia and the General 



BUMiETIN 1"' 

Grant National parks, and in the forest reserves in southern California, 
in ;ill of which, plants have been made each season of the Inst two years. 

We are indebted to Major James B. Hughes, 1st Cavalry, Acting 
Superintendent of the Sequoia and the Genera] Grant National parks. 
in Tulare County, for the following interesting report upon the wild 
turkeys seen in the parks this season. Walter Fry. the Park Ranger, 
who collected the information for Major Hughes, is well known to the 
Commission as a painstaking and thoroughly reliable man. He per- 
sonally supervised tbe liberation of the turkeys shipped from the game- 
farm last year. 

"In compliance with your requesl calling for a report on the wild 
turkey in the Sequoia National Park, 1 have the honor to submit the 
following in this connection : — 

Birds were seen by the following individuals on the dates and at the 

places as given below: — 

Walter Fry, Fob. 20. 1911—8 adult birds; 1 aest with 1 I eggs, at Marble Turk. 

Walter Fry. .Mar. 20, 1911—12 adult birds; 9 young birds. a1 Turkey Flat. 

Walter Fry, June <i, 1911 — 1 adult bird; young birds, ai Salt Spring. 

Walter Fry, July 3, 1911 — 4 adult birds; 7 young birds, at Barnefee Plat. 

Walter Fry, July 14. 1911—5 adult birds, at Barnefee Flat. 

Walter Fry, July 1G, 1911—11 adult birds, at Alder Creek. 

C. W. Blossom, Jan. 11, 1911—'J adult birds, at Salt Spring. 

< '. W. Blossom. Feb. 1.",. 1911—2 adult birds: 1 nest with 7 eggs, at Sail Spring. 

<\ W. Blossom, Mar. 4. 1911—3 adult birds, at Turkey Flat. 

0. W. Blossom, June 14. 1911—1 adult bird, at Pigeon Creek. 

11. 'I'. Britten, Jan. 11. 1911--:', adult birds, at Turkey Flat. 

.}. <;. V. Grunigen, Mar. 4. 1911—2 adult birds, at Turkey Flat. 

E. L. Cass, July 8, 1911—2 adult birds, at Turkey Flat. 

C. W. Frv. duly 8, 1911 2 adult birds, at Turkey Flat. 

C. W. Keller. Apr. 1.". 1911 C. adult birds, at Salt Spring. 

Chester Wright, Apr. 15, 1911 6 adult birds, at Salt Spring. 

Chester Wright, Apr. 22, 1911—3 adult birds, at Salt Spring. 

Hubert Fool, July 8, 1911 1 adult birds; 4 vounsr birds, at Barnefee Flat. 

R. Hubbard, duly 11, 1911— 2 adult birds, at Barnefee Flat. 

In addition to the birds seen by parties herein mentioned, many other 
parties have seen birds, hut as dates were not known, their names have 
been omitted. 

This report was not rendered sooner for the reason thai the territory 
inhabited by the birds is large and but few people pass therein, there- 
fore it was withheld in order that a more extensive and accurate report 
might be given, and as such the report is submitted." 

In addition to the wild turkeys at the Game Farm, there are at pres- 
ent in the neighborhood of 1,145 young pheasants. These birds arc 
mostly of the Mongolian and Ring-neck stock and are doing well, and 
there is good prospect of making a large distribution in the fall; but 
while it is well not to count your chickens until they are hatched, it is 
equally true that the birds for distribution should not be counted until 
they are grown. Young pheasants are subject to many ills and while 
the loss at the farm so far this year has been small and there are many 
hundred more young chicks than in any past season, the danger points 
are not yet passed for many of the ills so common to them to appear ; 
however, great precaution is being taken to prevent disease. 

At the last session of the Legislature, provision was made for the sale, 
at any time, of domestically reared and imported pheasants. As a 
result of this action, it is to be expected that there will be a large increase 
in the number of persons at present engaged in rearing these birds. 
There is a good market and ready sale for all the pheasants that can be 



16 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

raised in this State. It is an industry that should attract the attention 
of the poultry growers of the State. The Commission expects this fall 
to liberate, in sections well suited to the Ring-neck pheasant, large num- 
bers of birds, and to be able to supply persons throughout the State 
who will make the necessary provision to care for the birds and agree to 
make a fair return to the State for the birds granted them. The Com- 
mission will be pleased to hear from interested persons. 

MOUNTAIN LION BOUNTY. 

The Commission concurs in the opinion held by experienced mount- 
aineers and other observers in a position to know, that the California 
lion is the chief predatory menace to the perpetuation of the wild deer 
supply of the State. The policy of offering a bounty of $20.00 for each 
lion killed within the State has proven very satisfactory and will be 
continued indefinitely. 

The following tabulation displays the numbers of bounties paid for 
lions each month for the year ending June 30, 1911 : 

1910— July 14 at $20 00 $280 00 

August 17 at 20 00 340 00 

September 25 at 20 00 500 00 

October 26 at 20 00 520 00 

November 26 at 20 00 520 00 

December 30 at 20 00 600 00 

1911— January 24 at 20 00 480 00 

February 24 at 20 00 480 00 

March 38 at 20 00 760 00 

April 23 at 20 00 460 00 

May 16 at 20 00 320 00 

June 8 at 20 00 160 00 

Total 271 at $20 00 $5,420 00 

Due precaution against possible fraud is taken in every instance 
where claims for bounty are presented. The following ruling of the 
Board governs the payment of lion bounties : 

Applicants for the bounty of twenty dollars ($20.00) paid by the 
Fish and Game Commission on mountain lions killed in the State of 
California, are hereby notified that no claim will be considered unless 
the following requirements are complied with : 

The entire skin, including the scalp of the mountain lion upon which 
a bounty is claimed, must be sent to the office of the Board, all carriage 
charges prepaid. The skin should be either dried, tanned, or otherwise 
cured before shipment, as green skins spoil quickly, becoming very 
offensive and losing all value. Skins will be returned to claimants at 
their expense, or destroyed, as may be directed. 

It is obligatory, also, that the claim be made upon a form provided by 
the Fish and Game Commission, upon which shall appear in particular 
the names and addresses of the claimant and three witnesses. This 
claim must be acknowledged before a notary public or justice of the 
peace, and shall bear the county clerk's certification to the genuineness 
of the notary's or justice's signature. 

In addition to the claimant's affidavit, there must be an affidavit, 
upon a form provided, by one of the witnesses whose name appears on 
the claimant's affidavit, which shall also be acknowledged before a 
notary public or justice of the peace, and bear the county clerk's certi- 
fication. 



BULLETIN 17 

The affidavits should be accompanied by an account of the pursuit 
and killing of the lion, giving in detail the method used, number of 
deer carcasses left by the animal, and such other facts as may be of 
assistance in determining the damage done to deer and other game, and 
in planning the extermination of this member of the cat family. 

Before payment of the bounty, it has been the practice of the Com- 
mission to write the claimant, requesting him to give, in addition to 
the affidavit, full particulars of the killing of the lion. From these let- 
ters has been gleaned much information, both as to the destruction 
wrought by lions upon deer and domestic live stock, and the most suc- 
cessful methods of killing this chief predatory pest. Tracking and tree- 
ing the lions with the aid of trained dogs is by far the most successful 
method of bringing these animals within the reach of bounty claimants, 
although many lions are killed through the agency of traps, and occa- 
sionally by the use of poison. 

THE WORK OF THE PATROL FORCE. 

In its efforts to enforce the fish and game laws of the State, the Board 
has maintained throughout the State a paid patrol consisting of some 
sixty officers. The number varies according to the season. These 
officers have been assisted by upwards of four hundred and fifty duly 
commissioned men who serve wilhout regular pay, but who are compen- 
sated for the work actually performed. Many of these men have been 
very active and, as a result of the arrests made, have been well paid. 

To enable the Board to closely supervise its patrol force, the State 
has been divided into three districts. The deputies working in the 
counties in the southern end of the State are controlled from an office 
which the Board maintains in Los Angeles, directed by Commissioner 
Connell. The force in the counties in the San Joaquin Valley is 
directed from an office in Fresno, under charge of Deputy Commis- 
sioner A. D. Ferguson. The balance of the force is directed from the 
head office in San Francisco. As soon as the necessary arrangements 
can be made, the patrol force operating in the Sacramento Valley and 
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, north of the Fresno Division, will be 
controlled from an office to be established in Sacramento, under the 
direction of Commissioner Newbert. 

The patrol of the commercial fisheries in San Francisco, San Pablo 
and Suisun bays and the lower Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers 
has been thorough. At times all three of the launches owned by the 
Commission have been in use. That effective work has been done is 
evidenced by the following tabulation, which discloses the number and 
character of the arrests made by our patrol force, together with the dis- 
position of the cases in court, for the year ending June 30, 1911. This 
statement shows that there has been a total of $5,813.00 imposed for 
violations of the fish laws and $10,464.00 for infractions of the game 
laws. A total for the vear of $16,277.00. 



IS 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



GAME CASES. 
Summary of Arrests and Disposition of Cases for the Year Ending 

June 30, 1911. 



Violations charged with 



2 

= 1 

■c c- 
3.2 

la 

3- 



■m 
i 
i 
i 
l 



Violations of the hunting license law 

Resisting an officer 

Aiding man under arrest to escape 

Perjury (swearing to lion scalp taken by another party)-.. 

Petty larceny (stealing crabs held as evidence) 

Shooting on state game preserve (2 pending) 

Shooting on national game preserve 

Shooting on enclosed ground (trespass) (3 pending) 

Elk, killing 

Deer (female and spotted fawn), killing or possessing (2 

pending) 

Deer or deer meat, close season, killing, possessing or sell- 
ing (2 pending) 

Deer, excess bag limit 

Deer hides in possession, evidence of sex removed 

Deer, pursuing with dogs (1 pending) 

Tree-squirrels, close season, killing or possessing ■. 

Ducks, close season, killing or possessing 

Ducks, excess bag limit (2 pending) 

Animal blind, used for the purpose of approaching ducks 

or geese 

Power boat in motion, shooting ducks from 

Doves, close season, killing or possessing: bag limit 

Quail, grouse, sage-hens, close season, killing or possessing 

Quail, excess bag limit . 

Quail, buying and selling; keeping in captivity 

Plover, snipe and other shore-birds, close season, in 

possession 

Snipe, bag limit 

Protected game-birds (swan, pheasants), killing or trap- 
ping 

Protected non-game birds (sandhill crane), shipping or 

offering for sale 

Game shipped contrary to law (improperly marked) 

Night shooting 

Nests or eggs, robbing or possessing 

Non-game birds (blackbirds, yellow-hammers, meadow- 
larks, sea-gulls, robins), killing, shipping or possessing 
(1 pending) 



017 Totals 511 21 72 $10,464 209 



212 
1 



250 
230 
,220 

100 
70 
250 
940 



135 

10 



425 
.50 



Note. — Fifteen cases pending! 



BULLETIN 



19 



FISH CASKS. 

Statement of Arrests. Convictions and Fines fob the Year Ending 

June 30, L911. 



4 

2 

61 

5 

4 
o 

13 
13 

10 
5 
1 

353 



charged with 



Fishing without a license (1 pending) 

Chinese shrimp or bag-net, used for the purpose of 

taking fish (28 pending) 

Set-nets, set-lines, used for taking tish (12 pending) 

Kets extending more than one-third across the stream 

Small mesh net. used for taking striped bass 

Dynamiting tish 

Pollution of state waters (sawdust) 

Fishway. fishing within fifty feet of 

Salmon, close season, taking, possessing or selling (1 

pending) 

Saturday and Sunday fishing for salmon (1 pending) 

salmon roe used for bait (October, L910) 

Striped bass, underweight, taking, possessing or shipping 

Striped bass, close season 

Black bass, close season, taking oi possessing 

Trout, close season, taking or possessing - 

Trout, excess creel limit 

Trout, taken other than with hook and line 

Night fishing for steelhead 

crabs, undersized, taking, selling or possessing to pending) 

Crabs, close season, in possession 

Abalone, undersized, taking or posssesing 

Black abalone. close season, taking, possessing or selling 
Crawfish or lobsters, close season, taking Or possessing.,. 

Cattish, undersized, offering for sale (I pending)-. 

Shrimp, in possession 

shrimp (California), or shrimp-shells, offered for export.. 
Squid, taken for commercial purposes 



Totals 2<>0 



365 

1,000 

100 



500 

250 



425 

400 
10 

205 
20 
80 

150 

125 
!H) 
25 

510 
(15 
05 
20 

233 

-I'M) 

125 
105 



oo $5,813 



30 

.50 
140 



Note. — Fifty eases pending. 



Seizures of Nets, Fish, and Game fob the Year Ending June ."mi. L911. 

Seizures of fish and game were donated to charities, except where 
otherwise stated. 

•'!" set-nets. 

3 Chinese shrimp-nets (seized as evidence). 

1 salmon net used 1'or Saturday and Sunday fishing. 
6 Chinese sturgeon-lines (53 sections, 12 anchors i. 
•"><»" pounds salmon. 
v <"» pounds striped bass. 

18 black bass (destroyed). 
•"in pounds steelhead trout. 
41s pounds trout. 

.".15 pounds catfish (300 pounds destroyed). 
420 pounds miscellaneous fish (250 fish returned to water). 
715 crabs (336 returned to water. 15 destroyed!. 
8 abalones. 
5. .",7(1 pounds dried shrimp or shrimp-shells (about 2,030 pounds 

young- fish at Sisson Hatchery). 
2,961 ducks (75 destroyed; 415 returned to owner I. 
37 geese (5 returned to owner). 
2o doves. 
268 quail (17 returned to owner I. 
8 rail. 
40 plover. 
252 non-game birds. 

4 sandhill crane. 

1 mounted spotted fawn. 
4 deer hides (returned to owner). 

251 pounds venison and 3 whole carcasses. 

2 jack-rabbits. 
1 bear hide. 

52 tree-squirrels. 



used for feeding 



20 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS OF THE STATE 
FISH AND GAME COMMISSION FOR YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1911. 

The following statements disclose that the total hunting license collec- 
tions paid into the state treasury for the year amounted to $132,167.00 
and that the total commercial fishery licenses amounted to $22,640.00. 
It should be noticed that the fishing license year extends from April 1st 
to March 31st of the following year and that the hunting license year 
runs from July 1st to June 30th following. 

During the fiscal year ending June 30th, the Board was given an 
appropriation by the Legislature of $20,000 for the support and main- 
tenance of the State Hatcheries. 

In consequence of the belief that the Commission is now amply pro- 
vided with means for its work, from the sale of licenses and from fines 
collected, the Board made no application at the last session of the Leg- 
islature for any appropriation, nor was any appropriation made. 

In its endeavor to conduct the work of the Commission without the 
aid of any appropriation, the Board does not contemplate lessening its 
usefulness in any manner. Owing to the abolishment of the use of the 
Chinese shrimp nets in San Francisco and San Pablo bays, the expense 
of patrolling those waters is greatly lessened, and by close attention to 
expenditure the Board anticipates no difficulty in making its patrol 
work fully as effective as at any previous period and by its scientific 
Avork to add materially to its usefulness. 

STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30. 1911. 

1910. Fish and Came 

Jnlv . Preservation Fund. Hatchery Fund. I ■ ■ 1 1 

Hunting licenses $11,106 60 

Fines (game) 1,082 88 

Fines (fish) 274 75 

By appropriation for year 1910-11 $20,000 00 

Fishing licenses 602 50 

$12,464 23 $20,602 50 $33,006 7:: 
August — 

Hunting licenses $5,650 SO 

Fines (game) 907 10 

Fines (fish) — 30 00 

Game farm earnings 30 19 

Fishing licenses $950 00 

$0,618 09 $950 00 $7,568 09 

September — 

Hunting licenses $2,237 95 

Fines (game) 1.060 03 

Fines (fish) 463 30 

Game farm earnings 25 00 

Fishing licenses - $1,272 50 

$3,786 28 $1,272 50 $5,058 7^ 
October — ■ 

Hunting licenses $56,565 60* 

Fines (game) 1.033 85 

Fines (fish) 270 00 

Game farm earnings 274 21 

Fishing licenses $1,362 50 

$58,143 66 $1,362 50 $59,506 16 

County clerks made Quarterly returns. 



BULLETIN 21 

Fish and Game 
November — Preservation Fund. Hatchery Fund. Total. 

Hunting licenses $19,919 30 

Fines (same) SOT si' 

Fines (fish) 674 40 

Came farm earnings 33 65 

Fishing licenses $620 00 



$21,435 IT $620 00 $22,055 IT 

I >ec< mber — 

Hunting licenses $6,885 15 

Interest, bank balance 31 IT 

Fines (same) 1,336 13 

Fines (fish) 1,207 65 

me farm earnings 365 4u 

Fishing licenses $3,267 50 



1911. $9,825 50 $3,267 50 $13,1 
January — 

Hunting licenses $20,470 30 

Fines (game) . 1.1 in 95 

Fines (fish) 95 00 

Game farm earnings 12 60 

Fishing licenses $222 50 



$22,018 85 $222 50 $22,241 35 

ry — 

Hunting licenses $1,772 50 

Fines (same) 744 83 

Fines (fish) 994 50 

Came farm earnings IT (0 

Fishing licenses $307 50 



29 53 $307 50 $3,837 03 
March- 
Hunting licenses $3,810 85 

Fines (game) 917 10 

Finos (fish) 159 75 

u earnings 8 50 

Inspection of crawfish 100 00 

Fishing licenses $7S0 00 



$4,996 50 $7S0 00 $5,776 50 

— 

Hunting licenses $5,324 95 

Fims (game) 708 82 

Fines (fish) 559 15 

Game farm earnings II 95 

Inspection of crawfish 100 00 

Fishing licenses $6,117 50 

Fishing licenses, 1010-11 T 50 



$6,734 87 $6,125 00 $12,5 
May — 

Hunting licenses $2,450 70 

Fines (came) 328 68 

Fims (fish) 399 55 

Game farm earnings 12 15 

Inspection of crawfish 100 00 

Overpayment (M. Silva) 15 00 

Fishing licenses $4,177 50 

Fishing licenses, 1910-11 2 50 



$3,306 OS $4,180 00 $7, 1 
Juno — 

Hunting licenses $5,972 75 

Fines (same) T4 75 

Fines (fish) 349 75 

Inspection of crawfish 100 00 

Fishing licenses $2,950 00 



,497 25 $2,950 00 $9,447 25 



$201,996 01 



22 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 

The disbursements of the Board for the year ending June 30. 1911, 
are set forth in the following tables. 

"Warrants to pay all claims are drawn upon the State Treasurer and 
are paid from the moneys in either the "Fish and Game Preservation 
Fund" or the "Support and Maintenance of Hatcheries Fund." after 
having been approved by the State Board of Control and the State Con- 
troller. Duplicate copies of all bills presented are retained in the office 
of the Board. 

The moneys in the "Fish and Game Preservation Fund" are derived 
from the sale of hunting licenses and the fines collected for violations 
of the fish and game laws. All the fines collected for violations of the 
commercial fishing laws are also paid into this fund. The moneys in 
the "Support and Maintenance of Hatcheries Fund," for the year end- 
ing June 30, 1911, consisted of $20,000 appropriated by the Legislature 
in 1909. together with all moneys derived from the sale of commercial 
fishing licenses. As the Board did not ask for nor receive any appro- 
priation from the last Legislature, the moneys in this fund will consist 
hereafter only of the amount derived from the sale of commercial fishing- 
licenses. 

STATEMENT OF DISBURSEMENTS FROM "SUPPORT AND MAINTE- 
NANCE OF HATCHERIES FUND," JULY 1, 1910, TO JUNE 30, 1911. 

Hatcheries : 
Sisson: 

Operating expenses — 

Tront S^.ri2s 86 

Salmon 12.376 4S 

$17,905 34 

Improvements S 90 

Tuhoe and Tallac: 

Operating expenses (trout) 1,462 88 

Wawona: 

Operating expenses (trout) 204 73 

Improvements 105 70 

Eel River, Grizzly Bluff: 

Operating expenses (salmon) 2.663 92 

San Francisco Office: 

Chief Deputy 711 40 

Clerks and assistant deputies in office 955 01 

Office expenses 2.549 55 

Los Angeles Office: 

Clerks and assistant deputies in office 75 00 

Other office expenses 177 89 

Fresno Office: 

Clerks and assistant deputies in office 300 00 

Other office expenses 127 45 

Fish Patrol (field deputies and launches) : 

San Francisco district 12.517 88 

Los Angeles district 787 75 

Fresno district 732 00 

Cost of prosecutions 17 25 

Fish distribution car 499 90 

Field investigation relating to fish: 

Salmon 1.639 3S 

Crabs 28 30 

Spawning Stations : 
Scott Creek: 

Operating expense 244 90 

Snow Mountain Dam: 

Operating expense 249 87 



$43,965 00 



BULLETIN 23 



STATEMENT OF DISBURSEMENTS FROM "FISH AND GAME PRESER- 
VATION FUND," JULY 1, 1910, TO JUNE 30, 1911. 

San Francisco Office: 

Chief Deputy $3,176 25 

Clerks and assistant deputies in office 6,865 IT 

Rents, printing,* postage and other office expenses '.>,S49 65 

Los I ngt /< s Ofjfict : 

Clerks and assistant deputies in office 1,178 00 

Rent, postage, and other office expenses 1,946 24 

Fn sno Office : 

Clerks and assistant: deputies in office 1,817 85 

Rem. postage, and other office expenses 395 45 

Fish and game patrol (field deputies): 

San Francisco district 61,893 82 

Los Angeles district 1?>,030 27 

Fresno district 10,773 10 

Game Farm : 

Operating expenses (wild turkeys and pheasants) 6,503 37 

Game purchased (Hungarian partridges) 3,653 08 

Improvements 649 ID 

Bounties paid on mountain lions 5.420 00 

Commissions on hunting licenses sold by county clerks 12,432 43 

Refunds to county clerks for overpayment on hunting licenses 154 00 

Cosl of fish and game prosecutions 7.4T."i 10 

Field investigation relating to fish and game: 

Relation of birds to agriculture 929 05 

Salmon 2,178 45 

Crabs 245 38 

Clams 319 95 

Publicity 474 07 

Spawning Stations : 

Si. ssi, 1 1 : 

Operating expenses (trout work) 5.645 57 

Tahoe: 

Operating expenses (trout work) 1,814 47 

Scott Creek: 

Operating expenses (trout work) 233 35 

Bouldin Island Hatchery : 

Operating expenses (striped bass) 71 69 

Fish distribution car 2,688 08 

Other distributions (pack trains in Sierra Nevada Mountains) 1,614 63 

Launches and fish patrol 293 14 

$163,720 80 

*Printing for all offices. 



